What options are available at end of lease?
Can I keep paying the same monthly payment and keep it a few more months if I need more time or havent decided on the next car yet ?
If I would be inclined to buy it, will MBUSA renegotiate the purchase price ? The purchase price would be too high but that worked to lower the lease rate, but if I were to buy the car would work against me.
I drive very little and it seems a shame to give all that unused mileage to MBUSA.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Can I keep paying the same monthly payment and keep it a few more months if I need more time or havent decided on the next car yet ?
If I would be inclined to buy it, will MBUSA renegotiate the purchase price ? The purchase price would be too high but that worked to lower the lease rate, but if I were to buy the car would work against me.
I drive very little and it seems a shame to give all that unused mileage to MBUSA.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Yes, you have choices...
1. You can return the car: and pay whatever your acquisition fees are plus what MBUSA FS considers excessive wear and tear.
2. You can buy the car: typically not recommended as the residuals (or balloon payments) are usually artificially inflated to get "great lease" prices. Also imagine paying interest for your lease (36 months) and then another 36-48 months financing.
3. You could sell the car: This, as I am finding out, is a bit of a headache. Though, whoever buys it will get an amazing deal. They will buy a car at near wholesale price, know that it has only had one owner and have warranty.
4. Depending on how your lease is structured, you could extend your lease either a) by one month at a time or b) six months at a time. Either way you have to call MBUSA FS or whoever you finance company is.
I hope this helps and good luck
the most important thing you should now besides what's already been posted is that MB will indeed lower the residual prices if you decide to buy the car. however - MB will not disclose or discuss that price with you until 60 days prior to the end of the lease.
for our situation, we leased a pre-owned 2000 cpo e320 wagon 3 yrs ago. right before the 100k warranty expired, i took it to MB dealer and they checked everything and fixed about $4k of items. at the 60 day mark, i called up MB and instead of the $17k residual they offered the car to me for $11k + $1k for the 2 months left on the lease. my wife and i were both very pleased at the $11k price...we probably would have paid as high as $12k.
by my estimate, i think the private party value was around $12-14k and MB probably would get $10k at manheim auction. overall, i think it was a win/win for everyone...and we ended up buying the car for $11k that we knew was very reliable and should last for many years.
good luck.








